6-Center Study Reveals Benefits to Both Universally Offered and Targeted Screening Methods Compared to Standard Practice
More than 1 million adolescents across the U.S. are diagnosed annually with gonorrhea or chlamydia – yet, unlike HIV, hospital emergency departments have no recommended screening standards for these sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2767595/Cincinnati_Children_s_Hospital_Medical_Center__Example_of_the_universally_offered_screening_question.jpg
Now a study published Sept. 8, 2025, in JAMA Pediatrics, reports that consistent structured screening practices – be they universally offered or targeted to higher-risk groups – can help clinicians detect infections that otherwise could go undiagnosed and untreated. The study was led by corresponding author Jennifer Reed, MD, MS, Division of Emergency Medicine at Cincinnati Children's.
“Comprehensive STI screening programs are important to prevent long term consequences of undiagnosed STIs such as pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility, and they can improve early detection and treatment which will in turn help to decrease the community spread of infection,” Reed says. “Because emergency departments may often be the only point of contact with teens and young adults, they can play an important role in this public health crisis.”
Untreated chlamydia and gonorrhea infections can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and infertility. Approximately 1 million PID cases occur annually in the US and approximately one third of those cases occur among adolescent females.
A Multi-Center Effort
The new study involved more than 7,500 people aged 15-21 who were screened at pediatric emergency departments in Philadelphia, Chicago, Columbus, Houston, Milwaukee, and Aurora, CO. Most were aged 16 to 18 and most were female.
The study compared three groups:
— Those receiving standard practice (tests ordered based only upon a clinician's suspicion)
— “Targeted” screening that used a computer tablet questionnaire to identify higher risk situations
— And “universally offered” screening of all patients who met qualifying criteria.
The results showed that population-level infection detection rates were significantly higher for those in the targeted and universally offered groups.
Next steps
The researchers plan to continue studying the cost-effectiveness of STI screening methods. Meanwhile, three of the six participating hospitals are independently continuing the screening programs they employed during the study.
About the study
Funding sources for this research included the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD094213) and the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network.
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/404302/Cincinnati_Childrens_Hospital_Logo.jpg
https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/img/favicon.png?sn=DC68259&sd=2025-09-08
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/expanded-hospital-screening-could-help-more-teens-get-treated-for-gonorrhea-chlamydia-302549601.html
SOURCE Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
https://rt.newswire.ca/rt.gif?NewsItemId=DC68259&Transmission_Id=202509081424PR_NEWS_USPR_____DC68259&DateId=20250908